Let's Talk New Year's Resolutions

And in the blink of an eye it is January 2018.  Where does the time go?  As I contemplated New Year's resolutions, I decided to do something a bit different.  Instead of a goal like reading 100 books this year or reading one book a week, I decided to make my reading habit more visible.  I, like many librarians, am always reading something.  However, I don't always talk about or show in any way what it is I am reading.  That to me is a missed opportunity to connect with friends and family, colleagues and, of course, the students.

I am using the hashtags #readbyexample and #imallbooked2018 to document my journey on social media.  In addition, I am creating a bulletin board of all the books I am reading here in my library to make those connections at work.  I have encouraged the faculty to do the same.  One of the math teachers approached me with a visual her librarians used at her previous school.  So I tweaked it to fit our campus and asked the teachers to customize the visual and put it up in their rooms as well.

I sent this to the teachers so they could insert their own name, and then we laminated it.

Then the teachers can write the name of the book they are reading currently while keeping a tally of all the books they have read since January 1st.

According to my sign, I have read 3 books since January 1st (in order) ...

and I am currently reading...

If you have made it this far, I am issuing a challenge.  I'm not asking you to read more; I do ask that you make your reading visible.  Create a hashtag; put it out there.  There is enough drama on social media.  Let's put something fun up there for others to comment on.

I'm looking forward to seeing the teacher signs in the hallways and classrooms.  I'm looking forward to the conversations about books.  I'm looking forward to seeing what you are reading this year.

Every day is an adventure!

Decorations...An "ah-ha" moment 10 years in the making

So my big revelation that took me 10 years as a high school librarian to figure out ... decorate for the seasons, not the holidays.

Why did it take me so long to figure this out?  Perhaps it was a fresh perspective in a different building with an even more diverse population of kids that made me realize 1.) I don't have the room to decorate as I have done in the past; 2.)  Some months are busier than others, and it is hard to change out decorations every 3-4 weeks, and 3.) The holiday decorations reflect those that I celebrate.

I try to be diverse, but this group of kids I have at Summit is really opening my eyes to different customs and traditions.  I have had some really interesting conversations with students who have lived in Mansfield all their lives to those who recently moved to America from the middle east.  It is a true melting pot that works for Mansfield Summit High School.

As I try to make the library neutral so that all my patrons feel comfortable coming to see me, generic/seasonal decorating made sense.

We had a "Welcome Back" display to start the school year.

We also did a sports theme to start the year.

And we rounded out September with a Hispanic heritage display.

As you can see, it is not just about seasons.  There is still a little bit of me showing through.  At Halloween, we did display our Mystery and Crime books...

but we also had a Fall display.

We decorated for Veteran's Day in November due to the Veteran's Day lunch we had on Nov. 10th.

From there, we went straight to a Winter theme.

I guess we will concentrate on Spring and Summer themes when the time is right.  I'm not saying the library will be void of cut out hearts or shamrocks when the time comes because those are my favorite holidays; however, I am trying to be more inclusive when establishing the library environment.

I know the library is not completely neutral, but this year I have become aware of my biases and am trying my best to make the environment welcoming to all.  We'll call this a transition phase.

Every day is an adventure!

The Long Range Plan - Part A: Where to begin?

It has been over 10 years since I attempted to analyze a campus and its library to map out a long range plan.  So the first thing I decided to do was a bit of research.  (I know what you are thinking here, "Wow...a librarian wanting to do research.  How crazy is that?")

I studied lots of strategic plans, 3 year plans, 5 year plans and long range plans of different libraries, both school and public.  I wanted to see what they considered important enough to include in their plans.  After days of searching and reading, I found 5 plans that I liked quite a bit.  I analyzed each of these and simplified them into an outline of sorts so I could compare them and decide what I wanted to do.

Here are my results ... 

Outline one (Leverett Library) included

• ·         Community Description
• ·         Library Description
• ·         Assessment of Needs
• ·         Methodology
• ·          Goals and Objectives
• ·         Action Plan

 Outline two (Danvers Public School) included

• ·         Description of Methodology
• ·         Community Profile
• ·         Mission statement of school
• ·         Mission statement of library
• ·         Current status of the library
• ·         Goals and Objectives

 Outline three (Jefferson-Madison Library) included

• ·         Introduction (of library)
• ·         Library Mission Statement
• ·         Library Goals 
•       Objectives and Strategies (yearly check list)

 Outline four (Boston Public Schools) included

• ·         Long range plan component definitions
• ·         Vision
• ·         Mission
• ·         Profile
• ·         Current Status
• ·         User Needs
• ·         Goals
• ·         Methodology

Outline five (Bourne MS) included

• ·         Methodology & Development
• ·         Community and School Profile
• ·         Mission
• ·         Vision Statement
• ·         Needs Assessment
• ·         Five Year Goals & Objectives

These outlines helped me shape what I finally decided to put in my plan.

SHS Library - Long Range Plan Components

• Description of Methodology
• Vision & Mission statement of the school
• School Profile
• Vision & Mission statement of Library
• Library Profile
• User Needs
• Goals, Objectives & first year action plan

I really liked the simplicity of the Jefferson-Madison Library plan, but after further study, I decided that was too isolated an approach for me.  I want to show how the library is fulfilling the needs of the campus, both for staff and students.  Therefore, I decided to include the school's vision and mission statements as well as the school profile to show how I am trying to align the library with those needs.  Another decision I made was to include only the first year action plan.  I didn't want to plan too far out from the 2018-19 school year.  A lot can happen in one year.  I look at it like lesson plans.  If I plan too far ahead, I end up having to make too many corrections along the way.  I'd rather plan for year 1, and then evaluate that plan to see what was successful and what was not before planning year 2.  That is also why I went with long range plan instead of a 3 or 5 year plan.  That was too limiting for me.  I may decide that 3 years is enough, or maybe 5 years isn't long enough.  I guess only time will tell.

Every day is an adventure!

The First Six Weeks

OK.  So this post might be a couple of weeks late, but time flies when you are having fun.  In my previous district, we would prepare monthly statistics.  This year I decided to wait until the end of the grading period.  Here in Mansfield ISD that is every 6 weeks...although some 6 weeks are longer and some are shorter.  However, the students receive a report card 6 times a year to mark the end of each 6 weeks.  All that to say, I decided to send out my reports every 6 weeks instead of every month.

Being in a new place, I did not know what to expect.  My last school was twice the size of my current one.  So I did know that the statistics were going to be a tad bit smaller.  To be honest, the numbers  did not "Wow" me overall, but it's always good to have a starting point so I know where to focus my energy.

Here we go... my mediocre data.  I created two versions of the library usage report.  As I described it in my email, the Library at a Glance is for the visual learners, and the Detailed Report is for those who want to see it all.

I sent the reports out to my school first, and then I shared them with the other high school librarians.  Many were impressed with the organization of the data, and the administrator in charge of the librarians wants me to do a brief presentation at the next library meeting.  She wants me to cover the information from my report.  So much for staying under the radar here in Mansfield!  Of course I do not mind talking about data or my library.  Both are very important to me.  I truly believe that we are our own advocates.  It is good to remind administrators and teachers (and anyone who will listen) what we actually do.  Many of the teachers on my campus indicated they had not seen a library usage report before mine.  My principal was so impressed he forwarded the reports to his "bosses" and my "boss" which is how I made the agenda for the November meeting.

What we do should not be a mystery to anyone especially when you believe in what you do.

Every day is an adventure!

The Introduction of Monthly Reading Challenges

I'm in a new place now, Mansfield Summit High School in Arlington, TX.   For me, personally, I tend to observe, take notes and immerse myself in the current environment before making any substantial changes.  It's good to have a baseline because if there are processes already in place that work, why change things up?  That is my philosophy, and I can be pretty slow and methodic about it.  Luckily, my principal seems to be allowing me to go at my own pace.

Having said that, I did already institute a monthly reading challenge.  As I was analyzing the library's collection and running reports in early August, I noticed that the average books checked out each month was about 100.  In a school with about 2100 students, that number seemed a bit low.  In addition, I also noticed that the collection was only 2% fiction, and the nonfiction (overall) is pretty old.  So now I see why our check out statistics were and are struggling.  Instead of lamenting the age of the collection and the spartan representation of fiction books, I decided to take a more proactive stand.  A monthly reading challenge seemed to be the best way, for now, that I could encourage leisure reading and not disrupt the flow of the library.

I went to the place I love when creating new stuff for the library...Pinterest.  From all of the reading activities I had saved, I was able to piece together the September Reading BINGO challenge.

At the beginning of September, I made posters and created a display both inside and outside the library.  I had the morning announcement crew on duty spreading the word.  I was ready.  On the first day, only one student came to the library to pick up the BINGO paper.  It was not my finest moment.  So I had to rethink my advertising strategy.

The following week, I advertised on the morning announcements, gave a copy to the English teachers, and put the information on Twitter and Instagram.  Quite a few more students came by the library to pick up their BINGO board.  I also had a couple of teachers do the same since I advertised it for both students and staff.

As word spread, so did the amount of students participating.  We handed out about 50 BINGO boards, which seems pretty low, but I prefer to look at it as a baseline for improvement.  Overall, only a handful of students and a couple of faculty members completed the challenge.  Those who did participate seemed pretty happy with their prizes, and our check out statistics did go up.  We checked out 356 books in September.  

Now we are in October, and I just introduced the challenge on Monday.  It is not a BINGO board, but it is similar in task.  

I did add a bit more nonfiction and poetry due to the English I teachers.  I attended their PLC meeting, and they were going over what they needed to do for the second 6 weeks.  Both poetry and nonfiction seemed to be prevalent in their lessons.  So I am reinforcing that with the October challenge.

Everyday is a new adventure!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

I finished year 22 as an educator, and thus far it has been unpredictable, laughable, crazy, fantastic, happy, sad and down right fun. As I approach year 23, I find myself in uncharted waters... not for the first time, but for the first time in a long time.   I have accepted a high school library position in Mansfield ISD for the 2017-2018 school year.  I will be the only librarian for 2000+ students and faculty members.

Why make the change now?  I have analyzed that over and over again, and  I have come to the conclusion that I simply need a different challenge.  I believe I have been in the business long enough to know the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side.  Therefore, I am not looking for greener grass, just a different lawn to water.  Mansfield Summit High School is the place I chose, and I hope it is the change I need.

It has taken quite a few years, but Blanca, Karen and I have constructed a library program in Duncanville of which to be proud.  The Duncanville High School Library is a place people love to visit.  We have enjoyed our time together, but as the saying goes, eventually "all good things must come to an end." I feel as if I have been on autopilot for the last couple of years, and I hate that complacent feeling.  When Karen left mid-year to accept the position of Coordinator of Library Services at Faith Family Academy, I knew then it was time to find something different.  Although Karen and I no longer work in Duncanville, it is comforting to know that Blanca is staying to watch over the library program and to continually improve the library for its patrons.

I will miss all of the students, colleagues and friends I have made over the years in Duncanville ISD.

However, I think Winnie-the-Pooh says it best ...

A Year in the Life of a Duncanville ISD Librarian

As you know, one of my many hats is "District Lead" librarian in Duncanville ISD.  I would be remiss in my job if I didn't brag on the wonderful librarians with whom I work.  We have 17 librarians in our district, that is one per campus and 2 at the high school level.  We are quite fortunate in that fact as the many districts around us begin to staff their libraries with para-professionals or share librarians between campuses.  We are also fortunate to have such dedicated individuals in all of our libraries.

In looking at our library statistics this year, you can judge for yourself.  

Here you go... 2016-17 Duncanville ISD Library Statistics

If you decide you don't want to wade through all of that information, here is a summary of what happened at each level within our district.

In the elementary schools this year....

In the intermediate schools this year ...

In the middle schools this year ...

At the high school this year ...

Of course, actions always speak louder than words.  We have an open door policy.  Please consider visiting one of our campuses next year to observe the Duncanville ISD library experience.

Thanks for stopping by!